Alternative Living Spaces

They call it the "Tiny House Revolution" -- the apparently growing movement to downsize your living space to maximize financial security, independence, simplicity and freedom. I don't have stats to prove this movement is growing, only a sense of how often I'm seeing this kind of thing in the news and a gauge of my own web [...]

Behind all this back-to-nature, recycling, renovated-school-bus, simple living philosophizing that I do on this blog is a simple desire: to focus on the right things, to be happy. And, of course, to teach (by whatever means) my kids that way of looking at the world. You may or may not be familiar with the concept of [...]

On these virtual pages you've seen tales of folks living in school buses, in shipping containers and on trailers, but an Austin professor is taking things even further, at least for a year. Jeff Wilson, environmental science professor and dean at Huston Tillotson University, will be residing in a re-furbished dumpster. He'll have only 33 square feet [...]

Architecture graduate student Hank Buttita wanted to build a cabin on his grandfather's land. But building codes made the project cost-prohibitive, so he bought an old school bus off Craigslist for $3K and set about making it livable (and beautiful!) to the tune of about $6K in improvements. It even turned out to become his [...]

Has my occasional series on alternative living spaces inspired you? Here is another example of what architecture firm HyBrid calls "cargotecture" -- spaces recycled from worn-out shipping containers. This one was chosen by Sunset Magazine for its "idea weekend" in 2011. Says HyBrid: "The home was fabricated by OneBuild Modular Manufacturer’s in a single 24' [...]

In Aviemore, in Inverness-shire (that's in the Highlands of Scotland) you'll find a yurt, a bothy and a Beer Moth -- all three of which are places to stay on the grounds of Inshriach House, and are available on what looks like the UK equivalent of HomeAway, Canopy And Stars. They're all tiny cozy accommodations, but [...]

I've written before about folks adopting untraditional living situations to find balance in their lives. Here's another interesting example: an Austin couple who deliberately lives in a renovated school bus called "Rosie," which is parked in a friend's back yard. (Pictures)

Fascinating story about a woman who's leading a drastically simplified life -- in a modified shipping container house that she's customized herself -- so she can spend more time with her daughter. Gets you thinking about what's important in life, and what isn't.